Cheney volleyball season ends

MEAD – The Cheney Blackhawks (11-8) girls volleyball team's post-season prospects were swept away Tuesday night, Nov. 8.

Cheney (11-9) lost to Mount Spokane, 3-0, in a winner-to-state/loser-out matchup. Set scores were 25-22, 25-11, 25-17.

The 16-4 Wildcats earned a state 3A berth. The Blackhawks season ended.

Individual statistics for the game were not available prior to press time.

Cheney, the No. 7 seed in the tournament, wasn't expected to reach the game.

But on Nov. 1, the upstart Blackhawk spiked the top-seeded Walla Walla Blue Devils, 3-1.

The upset gave the Blackhawks' post-season a lifeline, Coach Heather Zorrozua said.

"(It) kept us alive by winning. Turned into a double elimination after that match," she wrote in an email.

Haleigh Ghering had 21 assists for Cheney, while Sophia Coffin added 11 digs and Navi Islam-Zwart had 7 kills against the Blue Devils.

The win also ended the season for Walla Walla, a favorite to be in the state tournament.

After the upset, the Cheney girls headed to Mead (20-7) for a Nov. 5 district semifinal.

The Blackhawks fell, 3-1, dropping them into the winner-to-state/loser-out matchup against the second-ranked Wildcats. Set scores against Mead were 15-25, 25-22, 14-25 and 15-25.

Ridgeline (11-4) topped Mount Spokane , 3-2, to advance to the District 8 class 3A championship. Mead's win over Cheney also advanced that team to the championship game on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Mead topped Ridgeline, 3-0, for the district title.

Mead, Mount Spokane and Ridgeline all advance to the state tournament.

Liberty (Spangle)

While the Blackhawks were fighting for a possible state 3A berth, the nearby Liberty Lancers already punched their ticket to the state tournament.

The girls from Spangle were scheduled to open state play at 9:45 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, in the Yakima Valley SunDome.

Liberty enters state ranked No. 7; the Lancer girls will open against the No. 10-ranked Brewster Bears.